Man down
by paper-princess-94
Summary: When the group is split and Takashi returns injured, Rei doesn't see any hope for her friend.  Warning-character death


Okay guys, so I noticed that HOTD needs some serious fanfic love, so at first I started writing a normal fanfic and, before I knew it, it was getting more and more angsty. And it just wouldn't end, it was literally writing itself. I'm too tired to check it through again for spellings etc. I do check as I write but sometimes I miss things, so if you see anything please tell me.

Hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

_When 'they' first arrived, I didn't see it as the thing which would kill me. But of course you never do. Of course __**I**__ never would. I had spent my life in the 21__st__ century; my only real battle experience was video games where you played the leader, the one who could never die. _

_I think that was one of the reasons why I lasted so long, a feeling of invulnerability and a stubborn mind which told me I __**couldn't **__die. It wasn't possible. After all, I was the main character in my life, for all I knew this was just some big video game and I'd already died a million times. But the reset button was always there, you could always go back to your last save. Nothing ended. _

Nothing could end._ That's what I told myself. _How could the world exist without me?_ Selfish, I know, but I bet every single person thinks the same way. We spend our entire lives watching from our own point of view, how could we possibly even conceive that there was another way of seeing the world? That the world could exist without us there to watch it continue turning. That people could grow up, have kids, and have a life, without us there to see it for ourselves._

_Impossible. That's what I told myself. _

_I was wrong, the world continued spinning, people continued to grow, and everything still __**existed.**_

_Even after I died._

oOoOoOoOo

Rei bit her lip as she span, knocking down one, two, _three_ of 'them' in one hit. She blinked in disbelief, there were more coming, there were always more coming. That was the worst part, the never-ending crowds, the feeling of it being you against the world, one against a million. The odds were crushing but they had to fight against them if they wanted even a _chance_ at surviving this. She continued fighting, desperately trying to find the rest of the group.

At some point during their flight back to the relative safety of the waiting car they had gotten split up, she knew she had no chance of surviving without them so she tried just about everything she could just to get back to them. But she didn't shout, or shoot, that was just about the worst thing you could do whilst fighting 'them', they would be attracted to the sound and come flocking to her. She barely stood a chance as it was; if she let them gather to her she would (literally) be ripped apart.

She ran several more through with her bayonet, her ears pricked for the tell-tale sound of gunfire which would alert her to the other's position, but it was hard to concentrate with mindless zombies attempting to eat your flesh.

_Wait... There! _

Her body turned automatically at the sound of someone shouting her name and relief gripped her as she caught sight of Kohta standing on top of the car, waving his arms wildly as she began to make her way towards them. Out of the corner of her eye she notices that any of 'them' who get to close to her are almost instantly shot down, but she refuses to let her guard down.

And then she was stumbling into open space, faces looking up at her sudden entrance and then relaxing into glad smiles as they saw that she was okay. But there was still underlying worry creasing their foreheads as they continued fighting. Why did they carry on fighting, they could go, they were all back safe.

Weren't they?

She had assumed that she was the only one to end up splitting from the group, or perhaps it was just wishful thinking, because now she noticed the glaringly obvious absence of spiky brown hair and an even more worrying lack of pink-haired munchkin. Zeke sat on the back seat, his ears drooping dejectedly without Alice beside him.

She glanced around and found Saya not too far away. She went to help her fight off a pack of particularly over-zealous zombies before asking the question which had been burning her tongue since she realised they were missing.

"Where's Takashi?" She asked, not taking her eyes off of the approaching creatures as she waited for an answer.

"Alice and him got separated from us at about the same time you did," The other girl spared her a glance before pulling her attention back to more important things, "I'm glad you're not dead." She added quietly, only half-sarcastic.

"Thanks." Rei answered, slightly taken-aback by the show of affection, no matter how small. Their group really was getting closer. "So, I guess we just wait."

"No." Saya's answer caught Rei off guard, causing her to snap her head up and look at the pink-haired girl. Surely she wasn't thinking of leaving Alice and Takashi behind. But then Saya looked up, her eyes so filled with a mix of desperation and determination that Rei couldn't say anything against her next words. "We wait and _hope_."

oOoOoOoOo

They were fighting for about ten more minutes before they heard Kohta shout.

"I can see them! Looks like they're moving slowly 'cause Takashi is carrying Alice."

They all let out a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding. They'd been worried that they were moving so slowly because one of them was seriously injured. But it made sense. Alice would easily be overpowered by any of 'them' who got near her so Takashi was carrying her, keeping her out of their reach as he beat his way through the crowd. Saeko was already rushing to his aid so Rei and Saya just focused on keeping their small, creature-free area safe whilst Shizuka started the engine, ready to leave as soon as the entire group was back together.

But when the others emerged from the crowd of moaning, shambling figures Rei knew instantly that there was something wrong. Takashi seemed to be struggling to keep Alice's small weight on his back, his arms shook and he was covered in scratches, bruises and blood (although whether it was his or not was unknown.) She had to stop herself from running to help him; she knew he wouldn't appreciate it right now, so instead she bundled into the car with the others before they sped through the crowd, forcing a path for them to escape through.

oOoOoOoOo

Once they were a safe distance away Shizuka pulled over. There were none of 'them' nearby, or at least none which they could see, they should be fine as long as they didn't make too much noise.

Almost as soon as they had slowed to a stop Takashi shoved the car door open and jumped out, he only made it a few steps before his legs gave out and he fell to his knees, coughing wetly. Rei didn't need to look to know that there would be blood on his hand when he moved it away. But she no longer had the will to do anything but stare at her friend in pity and despair.

Because now she could see the bite mark.

It glared at her from his side, just below his waist on the right. He must have been carrying Alice on his shoulders at the time otherwise he would have been able to stop it. It was deep and wide enough that his hand couldn't cover it; blood seeped through his fingers as his hacking coughs slowed to gurgling breaths. Rei suspected that even without the virus it might have been fatal. Without it it might have been, but with it…

They all knew the inevitable outcome of this, and none of them were willing to lie to his face when he almost definitely already knew the truth.

He was going to die.

Shizuka and Alice stayed in the car as the others approached their fallen leader; they doubted the two non-fighters in their group would be able to handle this, although secretly Rei didn't think any of them would come out of this emotionally intact.

Because it was Takashi. Because it was _their _bumbling, caring, kind, thoughtful, strong, persistent, self-sacrificing Takashi, and none of them wanted to let him go. This was the man who had risked his life to save and protect them so many times before, who had _lost _his life protecting their youngest member.

And now he knelt before them, facing away so that they could not see his face and Rei realised that he was protecting them again. Because it was one thing to kill your friend because they were turning into a monster and asked it of you, it was another to look them in the eye as you did it. He would know, he'd had to do it before.

And they were still moving towards him, desperate for some proof that it wasn't true, that he'd pull through. But they could see the sallow almost-grey colour of the hand which clasped his side and how the wound was already beginning to rot around the edges.

He groaned in pain, a sound so human that it forced tears to Rei's eyes as she watched the man who had slowly become more-than-a-friend to her fighting for his final breaths. He spoke, his voice gravelly and barely recognisable "Kohta, do it now…" no sound, no-one dared to move and Kohta just stared down at the gun in his hand, dumbfounded. "Please Kohta; I don't want to die as…" He didn't need to say the rest, even if he could have; they all knew what he meant.

Kohta trudged slowly, reluctantly, to stand behind his friend. He pulled his gun up, lifting it as though it was the heaviest thing in the world, and placing it on the back of his neck. One shot should sever the spinal cord, ending it quickly and painlessly.

"You're leaving me as the only guy, bastard. If I turn gay I'm blaming you…" His harsh words lost their hardness when they were spoken so softly.

"Think of it _*cough* _this way. You'll have all the girls _*cough*_ to yourself." Takashi comforted jokingly around the gurgling mass of blood in his throat.

"I'd rather become a _*sniff*_ lesbian. Than be with that fatty." That was Saya, sobbing quietly at Rei's side. Rei pulled her towards her and let her cry silently into her shoulder, one arm wrapped around the other girl's shoulders.

There was a muted snapping sound and Rei's head shot up, thinking that Kohta had shot him. But instead found the short boy standing a couple of metres back, as though he had jumped away. She saw why.

Takashi's head had snapped back and she could clearly see his face. His jaws were wide open, revealing a mouth which was more like one of 'them' than a normal human's, his eyes were almost completely white and his skin was ash-grey. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth as his body seemed to begin to shake.

"KOHTA, NOW!" Rei heard herself screaming, she knew what came next after this and she wasn't prepared to see another person she cared about become one of those_ things_.

Kohta reacted instantly to the order, he took aim and shot. It wasn't until he saw Takashi's body crumple to the ground that he realised what had happened. He would have allowed himself a moment to wallow if it hadn't been for the approaching herd of 'them', probably drawn by the sound of the gunshot.

"Saeko, cover us. Make sure none get close enough to bother us." Saeko nodded, her face expressionless as she refused to let her feelings free. She would take it out on the oncoming enemies. "Rei, help me get him to the car. Saya, don't let Alice see him…" Saya nodded, and ran back to the others, wiping her face on her sleeve to get rid of most of the tears.

He gave Rei a grim look and they began approaching the fallen body, they rolled him onto his back and exchanged surprised looks. He was smiling, of course the smile was distorted by his stretched and twisted lips, but it was definitely there.

"We did the right thing…" Rei mumbled, as much to reassure herself as to support Kohta.

"Hmm…" Kohta answered, his eyes downcast. "Help me pick him up. We need to get him somewhere we can bury him."

Between them they carried him to the back of the vehicle, before opening the boot and pulling out a thick blanket. They wrapped it around him securely, taking special care to cover his face, before placing him carefully in a space they created which would hold him in place without crushing him. When they walked around to the others Alice was watching them, her eyes somehow managing to be both suspicious and trusting at the same time.

"Where's big-brother Takashi?" She asked, her voice breaking slightly as she watched Rei finally break down.

oOoOoOoOo

They found the little public garden pretty easily and it was an easy matter to dig a deep hole with the shovels they had "borrowed" from the hardware store down the street. When it was time to lower him in they sent Shizuka to go pick flowers with Alice, they didn't want to risk her seeing his face. They didn't think she would be able to handle seeing her _"Big-brother"_ looking so much like one of 'them'.

When they returned he was resting at the bottom of the hole, it was just waiting to be filled but they thought she might like to say goodbye. She didn't say anything, just dropped one small purple flower down the hole with him. It landed on top of his covered chest and was soon followed by the first of the earth which would soon cover him.

None of them cried, not even Alice. That would come later, when they were somewhere safe and they could all mourn together.

Alice placed her remaining flowers over the filled grave and they all stood for a moment in silence, staring down at the earth which now held their friend as though it was its fault he was gone.

And then they left. In silence they filed back into the car and drove away. They never looked back.

But they also never forgot.

* * *

**A/N** Gahh, I kind of hate myself at the moment. Why'd I kill off Takashi, he was like my favourite character :( But I'm kind of proud of how well this came out, so I guess that sort of makes up for it... sort of


End file.
